Review Archive

Within moments of listening to Jason Haywood’s album ‘A Thousand Miles Since Yesterday’ you know that you’ve tuned into some genuine, from-the-heart, deep-seated storytelling. Often wistful and yearning, sometimes mournful, Jason’s songs lead you close to his personal look at life, love and the challenge of learning from the scars that life leaves behind.

The album opens with a foreboding instrumental ‘Long Shadows’ - that make you sit up and take note, not representative but an attention-grabber all the same. The salutary lesson-learned understanding of ‘Fool Enough’ lays down its solid story of experience, while the remorseful ‘Through the Glass’ with its expressive melody relates another regret-filled story of what once was. These songs take you through one man’s journey – and if you like to travel with country-driven folk with roots that dig deep into their heritage then you’re going to love this.

From the disappointment yet consistently expected betrayal of ‘It Don’t Take Much’, to the road trip story of realisation, pain and loss within a ‘Road Little Known’ complete with its perfectly-placed fiddle these songs take on an intimacy that could make you feel like an intruder. The reverse is true; these are songs for sharing as Jason invites you into his world. For my money, the standout track is ‘Gypsy Rider’ perhaps because it strikes a special chord in my heart or maybe because I’ve been there before. I’m pretty sure that everyone will find at least one of their individual experiences reflected in these songs, that’s just the way they are.

It’s going to take a lot to displace ‘A Thousand Miles Since Yesterday’ from my truck’s sound system – I could drive for miles litening this. Oh yes!